低三下四 (dī sān xià sì) — servile, obsequious; to act in a lowly manner to please others

Definition

A derogatory chengyu meaning 'fawning and servile' — describes someone who grovels or humbles themselves to gain favor. Stronger and more contemptuous than a simple 'polite' or 'humble.'

idiom
servileobsequiousto act in a lowly manner to please others

Examples

  • ，低三下四。
    Tā wèi le shēng zhí, zài lǎo bǎn miàn qián dī sān xià sì de.
    He acts servilely in front of the boss to get a promotion.
  • 低三下四。
    Wǒ bù xǐ huan nà zhǒng dī sān xià sì de tài dù.
    I don't like that kind of obsequious attitude.
  • ，低三下四。
    Zuò rén yào yǒu gǔ qì, bú yào dī sān xià sì.
    A person should have backbone and not be servile.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénman, person
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī低dī
Same sound today

In 低, the left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 氐 gives the sound; the image is a person lowering or bowing themselves.

Open 低 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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